Review: Dandy Warhols

Above: Courtney Taylor-Taylor of the Dandy Warhols, who cooked something that about 500 fans loved Thursday night at the Beaumont Club. Photos by Chuck France/Special to The Star

This show was the tale of two different halves, or four different quarters. Thursday night, the Dandy Warhols of Portland, Ore., put on a show that lasted close to two hours and comprised nearly two dozen songs, all for the bargain price of $15.

It feels safe to say that most of the 500 or so people in the Beaumont Club probably feel like they got their money's worth, but it also fair to say some parts of the show were significantly better than others. And most of the differences had to do with the sound, which was all over the quality spectrum.

The Warhols' sound is drawn from a trove of influences and eras, and their forte is  how they use those influences to craft songs with sweet melodies and grooves. Thursday night they showcased a lot of their most memorable material.

They opened with "Be-In," a gale of acid-washed rock with bloodlines that run from My Bloody Valentine back to "Tomorrow Never Knows," then jumped to "Shakin'," jaunty and jagged post-punk pop that fuses Iggy Pop with Elastica. From there, the setlist bounced around their catalog, but they wisely (and courteously) visited their best album several times: "Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia."

Of those six songs, "Bohemian Like You" got by far the loudest response (if they have a "hit," that's it; and if they're even slightly sick of playing it, they never showed it). But some of the others are just as pop- and rock-solid and irresistibly catchy and smart, like the funk-punk anthem, "Horse Pills," which takes Cake's formula to a new place; and "Godless." Other highlights: the boogie--punk anthem "Legend of the Last of the Outlaw Truckers ..." "We Come In Burned" and the dance-rocker "We Used To Be Friends."

But among those bright moments arose others that defused the good mood in the room. The sound had a lot to do with that. During several songs, Courtney Taylor-Taylor's voice was either inaudible or inextricable from the heavy mix of guitar, keyboards and assorted effects. He sang through two microphone's, one of which usually turned his voice into disembodied megaphone/answering machine mode.  It didn't help that the band is relatively static on stage -- not much movement or banter -- or that it spent much of the show shrouded in blue light or shadow. And the size of the crowd was a little disappointing. But as one friend said about this band, now 16 years old: "They've always been about this popular."

But around the time the Warhols hit "Godless"-- maybe it was the joyous "Hey Jude"-like coda -- the show seemed to hit a new pace. And the last 40 minutes or so were the best of the night. About that time, the band seemed to climb out of its shell, too. Zia McCabe thanked the crowd for its enthusiasm and, after "Boys Better," they solicited a request from the crowd up front: "Minnesoter," which incited some of the most uninhibited dancing and singing-along of the night.

They ended with "Country Leaver," a nugget from "Urban Bohemia" that shows off their country-rock chops (like the Stones on "Beggars Banquet" or "Exile") and featured some scabrous blues harp and slide guitar. At that point, there was more momentum in the air then there had been all night. But it was shut-down time. It made sense anyway: If you're going to win a big game, it's better to pour it on at the end rather than blow a big, early lead.

Spindrift:The openers delivered about 40 minutes of a psychedelic mix of spaghetti Western/garage/surf rock. Good stuff. The surprise of their set: Frankie "Teardrop" Emerson of Brian Jonestown Massacre came out during one song and danced around in a clown suit. Just for the hell of it.

| Timothy Finn, The Star

They didn't sing "And Then I Dreamt of Yes"; and after "Boys Better," they sang "Minnesoter."  

Comments

[michael]

Definitely one of the better evenings of music to come around - nearly three hours from first Spindrift note to final Dandy bow, the vast majority of which was some fine rockin' and rollin', and as you mentioned the admission was extremely reasonable. Good times, and excellent writing as always.

[whatagreatreviewer]

They should feel honored that you went to review them, no kidding.

PS
btw- NEW this is now 2 days in a rows, double what you requested :)

[Denver]

You're right on Tim, I thought the same thing about Courtney's singing. It makes you wonder how much his voice is manipulated in the studio. Listening to a Dandy's CD and seeing them live gives you different results. The CD's are dense and intricate, beautiful in it's layers and sounds, while the live shows seem to struggle when they try to recreate the original recording, so they kind of go a different direction. The songs are played faster, sometimes to their own detriment, and the missing sounds of trumpets and such are replaced by humming and a second mic. All and all, though, they make up for it with great songs and a seemingly genuine happiness to be doing their job. I had a great time and it seemed like you were too, I saw you getting in to Boys Better and Minnesoter. Thanks for another great review, keep up the good work.

[Kilby]

All in all a fine show, as I've never seen the Dandy's before. I expected a bigger crowd, though. Courtney did seem to take a while to get in gear, as did guitarist, Peter Holmstrom, but perhaps it was due to the Oklahoma Joe's BBQ Courtney claimed to be stuffed with. I noticed Courtney's sluggishness, although it was hard to avert my eyes from Zia McCabe for much of the show, dancing at her keyboard.

Drummer Brent DeBoer is apparently the band's secret weapon. He played with passion and energy all night and his backing vocals helped many of the songs out. Would have liked to hear the full version of "Sleep," instead of the snippet we got. But beyond that, the band may have seen better days if last night was any indication, but it was still a pretty good show overall. Oh, and to the GORGEOUS brunette in the black dress and black cowboy boots who danced manically in front of me during, "Bohemian Like You," you have BEWITCHED me...........

Openers, SPINDRIFT, were very cool, and may have created their own Genre: Psychedelic Spaghetti Western. With their Ennio Morricone guitar sound and their creative use of percussion, they sounded like a harder rocking WALL OF VOODOO, albeit without a brilliant lyricist like Stan Ridgway, but overall, pretty cool and definitely different. These guys will probably NEVER see any commercial success, but I wouldn't mind seeing them headline at The Record Bar (or venue of similar size) in the future.

Finally, I did mention in another thread that I drifted around the corner to see the Dandy's brothers in Psychedelia, Dead Meadow after the Dandy's set at The Riot Room. They played for just over an hour, but their loud assault was pretty cool. They even gave us a bargain-basement light/fog show that somehow made that miniscule venue seem a little bit larger. Loved the singer's story about their drive in from Denver and how they had to backtrack to retrieve their drummer who they left 70 miles back at a grocery store, which wasn't discovered until the next Rest Stop. Stoner Rock indeed......

Finally, I also mentioned that the three guys from the Dandy's turned up at Dead Meadow's gig (Zia was absent). Courtney was being alusive and ignoring people who tried to speak to him. Peter Holmstrom found a little corner and stayed put, and drummer Brent DeBoer was head-banging and having a great time. He was also gracious to those who approached him. Perhaps Courtney Taylor-Taylor could trade one of those last names in for a bit of humility. Whatever, it was just good that they turned up to support this cool band, who only had about two dozen people in attendance. I gotta say that it was a good night of Rock & Roll and my hearing should be back to normal in a day or two (I hope!).

[JZ]

Great review, Tim. Glad you were at the show.

I thought this was a very good show, not as good as the show in Lawrence last year, but very solid.

I saw the Dandys play last year at Liberty Hall. They played for roughly 2 hrs 20 min and Courtney hit all of the notes and sounded pretty close to the studio recordings. The crowd was bigger for that show (approx 900-1000 people), but again they hadn't played in Lawrence for 11 years!

If you were wondering where Zia was after the show, she mentioned that she was going to spin some records in the Beaumont.